If people are confused about why the instrument is in Chile while the funding comes from elsewhere: It's because the high deserts of Chile have some of the bes

If people are confused about why the instrument is in Chile while the funding comes from elsewhere: It's because the high deserts of Chile have some of the best atmospheric conditions in the world for astronomy-- low cloud cover and rain, high altitude, low light polution, and very laminar flow due to the consistent temperatures the air experiences traveling over the ocean. Mauna Kea in Hawaii is another such golden site (with somewhat better median seeing than the site in Chili), but it's fallen out of favor over pressures to return control of the site to indigenous populations.